Breast pumps are well known, but the field of breast pump devices with self-contained breast milk reservoirs which can be used discreetly by fitting them within a woman's brassiere, often under ordinary clothing so that a woman can use a breast pump around others discreetly, is relatively new. The only known devices in this field, upon which this invention improves, are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,559,915 and 8,118,772 (Dao, Garbez), the disclosures of which patents are incorporated by reference herein.
To provide adequate milk collection capacity for lactating women using a breast pump, presently available breast milk reservoir devices are large, and when placed in a brassiere give a lactating woman an enhanced appearance. These breast milk collection devices are frequently used by a lactating woman underneath her clothing and in the presence of others. An embodiment of these devices utilizes a flap valve between the vacuum source and the stored milk, and the devices reach their maximum collection capacity once the collected milk in the reservoir reaches the bottom of the flap valve.
The risk from overfilling above the level of the flap valve is that when the pump is turned off, the valve may not prevent the backflow of milk into the breast funnel. This constraint leaves possibly more than half the potential volume of the reservoir unused.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved valving system which can allow milk extracted from the breast to flow into the reservoir and continue to be securely stored there even after the pump is turned off and the valving system is submersed in the collected milk, by preventing milk from returning into the breast funnel from the reservoir even in the absence of negative pressure holding the valve closed. This valve system would facilitate much larger milk collection volumes than the existing valve systems within the same size devices, and facilitate embodiments of the devices which are smaller and even more discreet for lactating women with low milk output and minimal collection requirements.